The Push by Ashley Audrain

Ashley Audrain's debut novel is so very dark and enthralling. Blythe and Fox meet at college and fall in love. They marry and decide to start a family to complete their perfect little world. Blythe desperately wants to be the perfect mother. The type of mother that Blythe never had. Right from the beginning, things begin to go wrong no matter how Blythe tries and she is forced to confront the unbelievable about her daughter.

This was a painful and uncomfortable read for me. How many mothers are shell shocked expecially after their first birth? I had a traumatic birth with my first one and did have that sense of disconnection in the sense of "that little thing actually came from my body?" but at the same time a fierce protectiveness that I have never felt before. I couldn't help but feel the parallels and connection with Blythe. She had no idea how to be a mother. All mothers wing it but some have better role models than Blythe did. She had the inevitable self doubt as to how much she was to blame for everything or if there is really something deeply wrong with her daughter.

I have to admit that I really... really disliked Fox but then it did add some spice to the novel itself. He is so very blind when it comes to his daughter and not paying attention to what his wife tried to tell him. I found him to be a weak character but his character is part of what kept me interested in the novel. He had an oblivious, head in the sand type of behavior and I was so disgusted with him. Thisis what I meant by "weak". The author created complete 3 dimensional characters who were normal people with flaws. Violet was a very difficult mystery to unravel. Sometimes she seemed so cold and heartless but at other times you caught a possible glimpse of the hurt deep inside.

The essence of the novel is nature vs nurture and how much one plays over the other and is more responsible for the way someone develops. All in all, this is a solid debut and well worth the read.

3/5 Stars